A long weekend is a weekend that is at least three days long (i.e. a three-day weekend), due to a public or unofficial holiday occurring on either the following Monday or the preceding Friday.
Many countries also have four-day weekends, in which two days adjoining the weekend are holidays. Examples are Good Friday / Easter Monday, and Christmas Day / Boxing Day (e.g. when Christmas Day occurs on a Thursday or Monday).
Four-day "bridge" weekends
In many countries, when a lone holiday occurs on a Tuesday or a Thursday, the day between the holiday and the weekend may also be designated as a holiday, set to be a movable or floating holiday, or work/school may be interrupted by consensus unofficially. This is typically referred to by a phrase involving "bridge" in many languages; for example in some Spanish-speaking countries the term is puente ("bridge") or simply "fin de semana largo".
Four-day bridge weekends are commonplace in non-English speaking countries, but there are only a couple of examples in English-speaking countries:
In the United States, the fourth Thursday of November is Thanksgiving, a public holiday on which most workplaces are closed; many workplaces remain closed the following day to create a four-day weekend.
In Melbourne, Australia, the Melbourne Cup holiday is held on a Tuesday. The Monday is not a public holiday, but many people modify their work arrangements to also have the Monday off and many schools will have a "pupil free day", so it is colloquially referred to as the "Cup Day long weekend".
Europe
In Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, "brugdag" ("bridge" day) is used. In the Netherlands also "Klemdag" is used.
In France, a bridge idiom is used: faire le pont ("to make the bridge") is used to mean taking additional holiday days. For example, if there is already an official holiday on Thursday, one could "faire le pont" on the Friday and thus have a four-day weekend (Thursday through Sunday inclusive).
In the German language, a bridge-related term is also used: a day taken off from work to fill the gap between a holiday Thursday (or Tuesday) and the weekend is called a Brückentag ("bridge day") in Germany and Switzerland, and a Fenstertag ("window day") in Austria. Since Ascension Day is a holiday throughout Germany and Corpus Christi is a holiday in large parts of the country (both of these holidays are always on Thursdays), such "bridge days" are fairly common, though always unofficial in character.
Italians use the idiom Fare il ponte: literally, "make the bridge". This could be a Thursday–Sunday weekend if the bridge was over Friday, or a Saturday–Tuesday weekend if the bridge was over a Monday.
In Norway, the term "oval weekend" (oval helg in Norwegian) is used. An ordinary weekend is conceived of as "round" (although this is not stated explicitly), and adding extra days off makes it "oval". Norwegians also refer to "inneklemte" (squeezed in) days, which are between a public holiday and a weekend. This is typical for the Friday after Ascension Day, which always falls on a Thursday. It is common not to work on such days, so as to be able to extend the weekend to four days.
In Poland, long weekends occur several times a year. The term długi weekend (long weekend) is commonly used in the Polish language. As well as the Easter weekend and the Christmas weekend, there is Corpus Christi weekend (Corpus Christi is always on Thursday and people usually take Friday off as well) and it may occur also around other holidays. However, the best-known long weekend is at the beginning of May, when there are holidays of Labour Day on May 1 and 3 May Constitution Day. The weekend can in fact be up to 9 days long (April 28 – May 6) and, taking one to three days off work, Poles often go for short holidays then.
In Slovenian, the term podaljšan vikend ("prolonged weekend") is used for a three-day weekend. Four-day weekends also happen, because May 1 and May 2 are public holidays (both May Day). A peculiar coincidence are Christmas Day and Independence Day, falling on two consecutive dates.
In the United Kingdom, where the majority of public holidays are termed "bank holidays" by statute, five of the eight public holidays in England and Wales always fall on a Monday or a Friday. When a fixed-date holiday in the UK falls on a weekend, the next weekday is normally designated as a substitute holiday. As such, bank holidays normally form an extension of the weekend and are known as "bank holiday weekends": terminology which is also common in some Commonwealth countries and the Republic of Ireland. There is, however, no automatic entitlement to time off on a bank holiday under British labour laws, and thus not everyone benefits from long weekends. If an employee is entitled to time off on a bank holiday, it may count towards their 5.6 weeks-equivalent of statutory annual leave, though many companies offer bank holidays as an addition to employees' contracted annual leave entitlement.
In Sweden, a day between a weekend and a bank holiday is called a klämdag ("squeeze day"). Many Swedes take a vacation day to have a long weekend.
Middle East
In Israel, a "bridge" metaphor is also used: "yom gesher" ("יום גשר", literally "bridge day").
in iran term of "bane utta'atilane" ("بین التعطیلین") which means between two holidays in arabic is used.
North America
In the United States, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act officially moved federal government observances of many holidays to Mondays, [1] largely at the behest of the travel industry.[citation needed] The resulting long weekends are often termed "three-day weekends" as a result.[2] A well-known four-day weekend starts with Thanksgiving and Black Friday after.
South America
In Argentina, some national holidays that occur on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday (sometimes even on a Saturday) are officially moved to the closest Monday in order to create a long weekend.
In Brazil, when a holiday occurs in a Tuesday or a Thursday, some sectors of the society, as government and education, turn the day between the holiday and the weekend into a holiday. The four-day or even the three-day weekends are called in Brazilian Portugueseferiados prolongados ("Extended holidays") or its popular form feriadão ("big holiday"). The bridge day is usually called "imprensado" ("pressed (in between)") or "enforcado" ("hanged"). To some extent, the term "ponte" is also used. One could also use the verb emendar (splice), saying eu vou emendar o feriado e o fim de semana ("I will splice together the holiday and the weekend.")
In Chile, a "sandwich" is a day that falls between two holidays, independently of whether it's a holiday by itself or not. In the latter case, workers may take it off on account on vacation days, an action called "tomarse el sandwich" (lit.: "taking the sandwich"). In formal writings, the term "interferiado" is used instead of "sandwich". In colloquial contexts, these days, almost always a Monday or a Friday, may be called "San Lunes" or "San Viernes" (lit.: "Saint Monday" and "Saint Friday", respectively) as well.
Asia
In Indonesia, when a non holiday occurs between two holidays or one of them is a weekend, is colloquially termed "Harpitnas" ('Hari Kejepit Nasional') (lit. National Clamped/Pinched Day, a play on Hardiknas, National Education Day) causing some institutions to declare a day off, or some students or employees unilaterally declaring a day off for themselves, thereby creating a long weekend.
In Japan, a weekday which falls between two public holidays is legally a public holiday.[3]
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide. Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part of Christmas festivities, with many people choosing to shop for deals on Boxing Day. It originated in the United Kingdom and is celebrated in several Commonwealth nations. The attached bank holiday or public holiday may take place on 27 or 28 December if necessary to ensure it falls on a weekday. Boxing Day is also concurrent with the Christian festival Saint Stephen's Day.
A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies, and a colloquial term for a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland. In the United Kingdom, the term refers to all public holidays, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation, or held by convention under common law. In the Republic of Ireland, there are some bank holidays which are not public holidays.
Public holidays in Australia refer to the holidays recognised in law in Australia. Although they are declared on a state and territory basis, they comprise a mixture of nationally celebrated days and holidays exclusive to the individual jurisdictions.
Customs and regulations for shopping hours vary between countries and between cities.
These are the public holidays observed in Ireland. Public holidays in Ireland may commemorate a special day or other event, such as Saint Patrick's Day or Christmas Day. On public holidays, most businesses and schools close. Other services, for example, public transport, still operate but often with reduced schedules.
Easter Monday is the second day of Eastertide and a public holiday in some countries. In Western Christianity it marks the second day of the Octave of Easter; in Eastern Christianity it marks the second day of Bright Week.
Public holidays in New Zealand consist of a variety of cultural, national, and religious holidays that are legislated in New Zealand. Workers can get a maximum of 12 public holidays and a minimum of 20 annual leave days a year.
An academic term is a portion of an academic year during which an educational institution holds classes. The schedules adopted vary widely. Specific synonyms are commonly used to denote the duration or a term. In most countries, the academic year begins in late summer or early autumn and ends during the following spring or summer.
In the United Kingdom, public holidays are days on which most businesses and non-essential services are closed. Many retail businesses do open on some of the public holidays. There are restrictions on trading on Sundays, Easter and Christmas Day in England and Wales and on New Year's Day and Christmas Day in Scotland. Public holidays defined by statute are called "bank holidays", but this term can also be used to include common law holidays, which are held by convention. The term "public holidays" can refer exclusively to common law holidays.
An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do relevant exams and homework during this time, which comprises school days and school holidays. The duration of school days, holidays and school year varies across the world. The days in the school year depend on the state or country as In Maryland there are 180 days in a school year, but in Minnesota there are 165 days in the year.
The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays, or workweek, is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most of the world, the workweek is from Monday to Friday and the weekend is Saturday and Sunday. A weekday or workday is any day of the working week. Other institutions often follow this pattern, such as places of education. The constituted weekend has varying definitions, based on determined calendar days, designated period of time, and/or regional definition of the working week. Sometimes the term "weekend" is expanded to include the time after work hours on the last workday of the week. Weekdays and workdays can be further detailed in terms of working time, the period of time that an individual spends at paid occupational labor.
Annual leave, also known as statutory leave, is a period of paid time off work granted by employers to employees to be used for whatever the employee wishes. Depending on the employer's policies, differing number of days may be offered, and the employee may be required to give a certain amount of advance notice, may have to coordinate with the employer to be sure that staffing is available during the employee's absence, and other requirements may have to be met. The vast majority of countries today mandate a minimum amount of paid annual leave by law.
The Fiestas Patrias of Chile consist of two days, with a third one added on some years:
Business hours are the hours during the day in which business is commonly conducted. Typical business hours vary widely by country. By observing common informal standards for business hours, workers may communicate with each other more easily and find a convenient divide between work life and home life.
Bank holidays in Scotland are determined under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 and the St Andrew's Day Bank Holiday (Scotland) Act 2007. Unlike the rest of the United Kingdom, most bank holidays are not recognised as statutory public holidays in Scotland, as most public holidays are determined by local authorities across Scotland. Some of these may be taken in lieu of statutory holidays, while others may be additional holidays, although many companies, including the Royal Mail, do not follow all the holidays listed below; and many swap between English and local holidays. Many large shops and supermarkets continue to operate normally during public holidays, especially since there are no restrictions such as Sunday trading rules in Scotland.
Lists of holidays by various categorizations.
In Judaism, when the Eve of Passover falls on Shabbat, special laws regarding the preparation for Passover are observed.
In Sweden, public holidays are established by acts of Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into Christian and non-Christian holidays. The Christian holidays are jul (Christmas), trettondedag jul (Epiphany), påsk (Easter), Kristi himmelsfärds dag, pingstdagen (Pentecost), and alla helgons dag. The non-Christian holidays are: nyårsdagen, första maj, Sveriges nationaldag, and midsommar (Midsummer). Midsummer is, however, officially also a Christian holiday to celebrate John the Baptist's birthday.
A puente is a holiday in Spain. It is the day off to bridge the time between the weekend and a holiday, thereby creating a long weekend. A puente typically occurs when a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, workers will then take the Monday or Friday as a puente, a day off. Some businesses will close down altogether.
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